


Lost

by badlifechoices



Series: fate is such a fancy word [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Minor Violence, jason todd has a thing for lost boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 14:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1822144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badlifechoices/pseuds/badlifechoices
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pavel kinda sorta makes a new friend</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost

 

Pavel woke up early the next morning. The first rays of a pale morning sunlight crept through the blinds and bathed the room in a grey light. It took him a moment to remember where he was and another moment to realise that the encounter with the stranger on the rooftop the night before hadn’t been just a dream. Hastily crawling out of the small bed, he grabbed his jacket and frantically searched the pockets. The pack of cigarettes was still there, right where he had left it. A small smile crossed his face as he opened it. The scent was still unfamiliar but now that he had slept over the whole thing, he was determined to try it again. The stranger – he really should’ve asked for his name but now it was obviously too late for that – had left his lighter inside and it took Pavel but a few seconds to figure out how it worked. Trudging over to the window, he threw a glance outside, wondering if he should climb up to the roof again but then decided against it. He needed to be ready should the others wake up or the Captain contact them. With trembling fingers he held the cigarette to his lips and tried to light it, imitating what he’d seen the other do the night before. It didn’t work. With a frustrated huff, he tried again when the thought crossed his mind that he had to suck while simultaneously holding the other end into the flame. Triumphantly, he breathed in the smoke and immediately began to cough violently. This really wasn’t easy. But hadn’t the other said it was completely normal that it hurt the first time? That his body reacted to the unusually hot smoke? Maybe he should just try again…

Someone knocked at the door. For a split second he considered throwing the fag out of the window and hide the rest of the pack in his pocket but then he decided against it. a) Whoever entered the room would inevitably smell the cigarette smoke anyway and b) why should he be afraid of another’s reaction? Technically he wasn’t on duty; he wasn’t violating any regulations and what he did with his own body was only his concern, as long as it didn’t impede his ability to perform his duties.

„You alright, Chekov?“ The oh-so familiar voice made him pull a face. The doctor. Of course it was the doctor. And it was probably defiance that had him take another drag of the cigarette, breathing more deeply than before and forcefully suppressing the urge to cough. It burned. All the way from his throat to his chest but he wasn’t about to give up because of that, oh no.

„Come in.“ He said finally. His voice sounded strange, strangled like he had just coughed up a lung. Nevertheless he didn’t turn around as he heard the door open, leaning out of the window instead and taking small drags of the cigarette. He figured if he didn’t try to breathe too deeply it wouldn’t hurt quite as much. And he was right. Pavel wasn’t quite sure what kind of reaction he had been expecting from his senior officer but the shocked silence that filled the room now, surely wasn’t it. Slowly he turned around, trying not to let his face show how nervous he felt provoking this man so openly. The doctor’s expression was one of surprise and anger and the Russian felt the corners of his mouth twitch as he tried to keep a satisfied smile from settling on his face. Looking into the other’s face made him feel weirdly accomplished. Surely the other didn’t think of him as the stupid, innocent and too overzealous for his own good child anymore. And that alone was more than he’d hoped for. People always said that you shouldn’t change for someone you like, for a crush. But what was he supposed to do, when the man he wanted didn’t even notice him? All his life he’d been working to match and surpass the expectations of others; how was he supposed to know what to do when all his attempts to make this man _see_ him failed?

„Vhat? Somezeng vrong, doktor McCoy?“ Pavel asked, his voice cold, as he slowly pressed the cigarette to his lips again, just to see how the other would take it.

„Something wrong? Are you out of your brilliant mind, kid? Are you trying to kill yourself?“ McCoy crossed the room with two steps, grabbing the other’s hand and taking the cigarette away, only to throw it out of the window. „There’s a reason why we don’t have those things anymore. They’re dangerous. You don’t know what you’re doing to yourself by getting into this. Where did you even get them?“

Kid. Yeah right. He was a kid, a stupid kid that wasn’t allowed to make his own decisions. So much for showing the other that he was more mature than the doctor thought. Pavel felt a bitter laugh climb up his throat but he swallowed it down, his face screwed up in an expression of anger. „Vhy do you ewen care?“ He hissed, narrowing his eyes and yanking his arm free from the other’s grip. „I vas not wiolating regulation and as ze doktor you should now zat viz modern medicine zere is no vay zis vill affekt my performanse on ze ship. So stop pretending you are vorried. You do not giwe a shit about me. No, you probably vant me off ze ship because in your eyes I am not fit for duty anyvay.“ And maybe he was being too harsh; maybe he was accusing the other of things that weren’t true but right now he felt all the bitterness and the pain of the other’s continuing rejection rise again and it was constricting his chest until he felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. „I do not need your adwise to make decisions, doktor. I am an adult and I vill be responsible for my own aktions.“

„No you’re obviously not, ‘cause no responsible adult would pull shit like this...” McCoy didn’t get to finish his sentence; the young Russian interrupted him before he got the chance to say anything else.

“You... You are ze vorst.” And because Pavel knew he’d only keep yelling at the other if he didn’t get out of here, he shook his head, grabbing his jacket and pushing his way past the doctor towards the door. “I hate you!” And with that he was out of the door and down the hallway. He didn’t know where he was going and he knew how unprofessional and childish it was to just run away but right now he saw no other option. He felt tears sting in his eyes but he swallowed them down, forcing himself to stay calm because, yes, he was an adult and not a stupid child!

He wasn’t sure if he expected the doctor to follow him, to shout after him and tell him to get back but nothing of the sort happened and Pavel knew that he’d been right all along. The doctor didn’t give a shit about him aside from what was his duty as CMO on the ship demanded. With a muttered curse, he wiped a hand over his face and made his way down the stairs, through the lobby that was deserted at this time – and probably at every other time too because this wasn’t exactly a very popular or even clean hotel – and out onto the street through the large glass doors. The noise of the city greeted him like a long lost friend, the sound of cars and voices was all around him, just like the crowd of busy women and men in sharp clothes heading for work. He didn’t know where he was headed, hell, he didn’t even know what he was supposed to do, now that he had left the relative safety of the hotel. He knew this one street and the way to that park where they had beamed down in the first place but everything beyond that was a mystery. The city was a like a large monster, waiting for him to take the wrong step so it could devour him. But Pavel didn’t care right now. He just kind of followed the stream of people, down the street, over large places and road junctions. It was exciting and scary at the same time and the Russian found that his thoughts strayed from the argument earlier. Maybe this time wasn’t all bad.

For quite a while he just wandered about this part of the city, watching the people around him until he finally noticed how completely and utterly lost he was. He didn’t know which way to take to get back to the hotel and with every corner he rounded that lead him into another unfamiliar street he felt the anxiety in his chest growing. Of course he had neither his communicator nor his phaser with him. He hadn’t taken any of the currency that was so very important in this time when he left the hotel in his haste which meant he couldn’t take a cab. No, he was on his own. Stupid, stupid Pasha. The doctor was right after all. A tiny voice in his head murmured. You are nothing but a child who can’t handle the real world. Shaking his head, he ordered the voice to shut up and leave him alone but it didn’t exactly work as he had hoped. Rounding another corner he suddenly found himself in a narrow and very dirty alleyway. Okay, this was definitely not the right way back to the hotel... Pavel wanted to turn around and go back but suddenly there was a group of people standing right in front of him.

“Look at this one.” One of them said, lips twisted into an ugly grin. “He looks scared.”

Pavel grit his teeth, taking a few steps forward and attempting to push his way through but one of the guys grabbed his arm and pushed him back.

“Your money, kid.”

“I do not haff any money...” Pavel hissed through his gritted teeth. Clenching his fists he shifted into the position he’d been taught at the Academy. Hand to hand combat had never been his strongest subject but he had passed like he had every other class and that meant he could at last hold his ground in a fight. Not that Starfleet prepared one for a four-against-one fight but he wasn’t about to give up so easily.

“No money... why don’t I believe that?”

The young Ensign backed up a bit, nervously thinking that yeah, he probably shouldn’t have left the hotel at all. So much for getting killed by a thug in the 21st century. This was pathetic. He was too lost in the thought that he didn’t even hear what else the men were talking about, only when someone grabbed his shoulder he reacted, punching the guy right in the face. He felt the other’s nose break under his fingers and at the same time a distinct pain in his knuckles.

„Son of a…“ Pavel had to retreat further, when the rest of the gang jumped into action. He tried his best to keep them at arm’s length but it wasn’t exactly easy and with every step he retreated, he got closer to the wall in his back. He kicked one of them in the shin; one of them managed to land a blow against his left cheek. He punched another in the stomach and they got his neck, sending him to the ground with a muffled groan of pain. From there on there wasn’t much he could do except trying to get back on his feet and at the same time blocking the kicks aimed at his head with his arms. So much for ‚I can take care of myself‘.

„Four against one. That’s hardly fair, don’t you think so.“ The voice seemed to surprise the thugs just as much as it did Pavel, though the Russian was pretty sure it sounded somewhat familiar. He glanced up from where he was laying on the ground and spotted a person perched on the roof of one of the surrounding buildings. A person in a brown leather jacket, a dark shirt, leather pants and heavy boots. The only difference was that now he was wearing a strange looking red helmet instead of the mask he’d worn the night before. „Also I got a thing against people who hurt my friends. So I’m afraid I’ll have to hurt _you_ now.“

The rest happened too fast for Pavel and his aching head. The stranger jumped down from his place on the roof – four metres? More?? How on earth did he even survive that – and beat up all four of the guys apparently without even breaking a sweat. Once it was over and the men had fled the scene – one of them being carried by his friends because his leg had been broken or something – he knelt down next to the Russian, offering him a hand to help him up.

„You okay?“

Pavel was about to nod but instead he hissed in pain the moment he reached for the other’s hand. His ribs hurt. His head hurt. His everything hurt. „Ouch.“ He muttered under his breath, as the other helped him up and with an almost mournful look he eyed his clothes. He’d spent hours brooding over the replicator after he’d been told to come up with something suitable for the 21st century and now his beautiful jeans were torn and his shirt looked like he’d saved it from being recycled. Well, he wouldn’t need them much longer anyway. Which reminded him of…

„I haff to get back! Now!“

And the other must‘ve heard the urgency in his voice because he only shrugged and motioned for Pavel to follow him. Relieved, not only that he had managed to escape the situation he had been in earlier but also that now he finally had someone who’d help him find his way back to the hotel, he muttered a: „Zank you for… zat by ze vay.“ The not-so-much stranger didn‘t reply, instead pulled him into another alleyway and towards what looked like… like a motorbike. And really it was only because Hikaru had such a fable for these things that he even recognised it as one.

„Oh no, I am not getting on zis zing…“ Pavel began to protest because according to what he’d heard motorbikes were even more dangerous than the cars they had in this century and he had no desire to die a very painful death in an accident. But on the other hand, the other had probably saved him from a very unpleasant death just now.

„Don’t worry, I‘m a very considerate driver.“ The other said with another shrug and the hint of amusement the Russian could hear in his voice did absolutely nothing to ease his worries. On the contrary… But apparently he didn’t have any other options, so he did his best not to look like he’d never even seen such a bike before when he climbed onto the seat behind his newfound friend, pressing himself as close as possible.

„Put your arms around me. Or else you’re gonna fall off.“ Oh right, no safety belts… Pavel wasn’t far away from having a panic attack, as he wrapped his arms tightly around the other’s middle, burying his face in the worn leather jacket so he wouldn’t have to see his impending doom. The leather smelled like gunpowder and grease. The other chuckled quietly, probably because he noticed just how scared Pavel was but the Ensign didn’t exactly car so as long as he got back in one piece.

The ride was less… scary than he’d expected and after a few minutes he actually dared to take a look at the buildings rushing past them. It wasn’t even a bad feeling he had to admit that. Only when the other started passing by other cars and driving through the large streets at what Pavel considered a breakneck pace, he hastily returned to his earlier position, pressed against the other with his face hidden. Now there was something he most certainly wouldn’t be doing again anytime soon.

A bad feeling settled in his stomach, as they finally arrived at the hotel and without another word to his saviour, he hopped off the bike and hurried into the building. Taking two steps at a time, he hurried up the stairway and then down the corridor over to the room the Commander had slept in...

He checked the other rooms, the doctor’s, Nyota’s only to find that they too had been abandoned.

The last room he entered had been his for the night... His bag was gone. So were the communicator and the phaser he’d left on the small bedside table.

They were gone. The Enterprise was gone. They had left without him.

He was alone. Stuck in the 21st century.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit 16.08.2015 Now with less typos/spelling mistakes.


End file.
